'Chuck' vs the big developments: More from Fedak and thoughts on the 'Other Guy'

I'm sure quite a few "Chuck" fans are breathing a huge sigh of relief after watching "Chuck Versus the Other Guy." It was a fun episode with the right mixture of humor, heart and action, and if it raced past a couple of mild implausibilities (Chuck couldn't spot the fakeness of Shaw's fight?), I'm not going to complain, given that so many things worked for me. I'm not going to do a breakdown of everything I liked in the episode -- I'll just refer you to what Alan Sepinwall said.

If Chuck were played by anyone but Zachary Levi, I'd wonder about the character morphing into someone who can kill, but given how fantastic Levi is, I know he can handle the evolution of the character if the writing keeps pace with his undeniable skills. But in the main, it was just a relief to see Chuck and Sarah to finally get together, after three seasons of knowing those crazy kids were perfect for each other.

And finally, finally, Shaw is gone.

I'd guess that one of the hardest things for a showrunner to do is change course in mid-stream. In Part 1 of my recent Chris Fedak interview and in Part 2, which is below and which delves into "Chuck Versus the Other Guy," "Chuck" executive producer and co-creator Fedak talks about the plan that he and executive producer Josh Schwartz had for Season 3. And I can't imagine how hard it is to change that plan once production is in full swing and there are a million plates to keep spinning. It must be very difficult indeed to alter the plan.

But sometimes it really needs to be done.

There were various problems with the season (which, in fairness, also had a some satisfying high points). But in my view, one of the biggest problems was that Brandon Routh was miscast as Shaw.

If the show had had another Matt Bomer on its hands, the entire Shaw arc might have been less painful. Bomer gave the character of Bryce Larkin winning insouciance (which is why USA gave him a very similar character in the successful "White Collar"). But Shaw was a wet blanket every time he appeared. He came off as a cold creep, not a charming spy. By the time he and Chuck were on that bridge, I was chanting, "Die, Shaw, die!"

Now, I fully recognize that casting is a roll of the dice. I've liked Michelle Rodriguez on everything else she's done -- except "Lost." I didn't think much of James Badge Dale on "24" until I saw what he did with the far superior material he was given on "The Pacific." Sometimes an actor and a role just don't mix for reasons that can't be fully explained. When you see a character quickly and unceremoniously written out of a show, it's often a sign that the powers that be have come to that conclusion.

On paper, the square-jawed former Superman might have made sense for "Chuck." And the idea of having someone who doesn't much care for Chuck coming in and putting him through his paces so that he could become a real spy -- again, that idea also made sense on paper.

But both the character and the actor didn't quite fit into the tone of the show, and Routh's dull performance made it hard to see what Sarah ever saw in Shaw. Overall, Yvonne Strahovski has done extremely good work in Season 3, and she did her level best to make the Shaw story line work. But as time went on, the strained Shaw storyline did a disservice to Sarah and in any case, even her top-notch acting couldn't save a story line that just didn't feel right.

Even if there had been some nimble course correction regarding various aspects of the Shaw situation, there were other problems this season: pacing, plausibility and plotting (sorry, that's all the p-words I could come up with on short notice). I know "Chuck" is a caper dramedy fully of goofy spy adventures and pop-culture references, but the show is always most pleasing when all those goodies are wrapped up in an air-tight, well-constructed plot. That wasn't the case with a number of messy Season 3 episodes.

And yet...

Now we find ourselves with a brand-new version of "Chuck," in which Chuck and Sarah are together, Casey is back on the team, Shaw is gone and Morgan is a member of Team Bartowski. This is an extremely promising state of affairs, and I'm very much looking forward to what happens in the next six episodes.

My hope is that fans rally behind the show in coming weeks and get people to watch "Chuck" in real time when it returns starting April 26. (Great fan efforts are already underway at We Heart Chuck and Watch Chuck Live.)

Given where things stand now, I very much want more "Chuck" (and I'm very glad we'll be getting six more episodes starting April 26). The creators may have tested the limits of the show's premise and tone, and they may have tested the patience of the show's hard-core fans with various aspects of Season 3 (Fedak says below he would have expected torch-bearing and pitchfork-brandishing villagers had they not gotten Chuck and Sarah together by the season's 13th episode). But here's hoping that Season 3 was, as the phrase goes, a teachable moment, and that Season 4 of "Chuck" is the best one yet.

So come on, "Chuck" fans. Let's get those Nielsen families to tune in!

Below, Fedak talks specifically about "Chuck Versus the Other Guy," Chuck-Sarah and other Season 3 matters. Also, he shares their various wild ideas for re-introducing Emmett Milbarge to the show.

(Sidebar: I'll post an interview with Strahovski Tuesday.)

There's a spoilery factoid about Season 3 but that's right at the end of the post and you'll get a warning before that. Don't forget to return here Tuesday for my interview with Yvonne Strahovski.

Fedak: After Episode 13, we have this new component. He now has a relationship with Sarah and he has to figure out how that works. That they’re now together as a couple, and can they be a couple and how does that work and does that work with them being spies together and going on missions -- how does that change the team?

Ryan: Right. I don’t know what I’m more happy about, that they got together or that Casey's back on the team. Well, probably Chuck and Sarah -- I am happy about that.

Fedak: Right. Going back to your earlier question, the season was all about putting Chuck and Sarah together. When we were heading toward Episode 13, we knew that at the end of episode 13, we wanted Chuck and Sarah to be together, but we also knew that we wanted Chuck to be a hero -- to not only want to be a spy, to be a hero, and how that would affect the relationship.

So we looked at the 13 episodes as going from the low point of Chuck and Sarah’s relationship – that his decision to be a spy [potentially would] fundamentally change who she thinks he is, [going] to the point in Episode 13 that Chuck, even though now he is a spy and now a hero and can do amazing things, he’s still the same guy. At the core of Chuck, he is still the guy that she originally fell in love with.

And so when you came on the set at the beginning of the season and you and a lot of reporters had asked, "Will Chuck and Sarah be together?" The answer from a writer’s perspective was, "Yes, I just can’t tell you that right now because I have to tell the story." And we built these 13 episodes as a kind of a test of the relationship. That’s what the original 13 episodes of the season were doing -- taking Chuck and Sarah from the low moment of 301 to 313 -- them being together and being a couple.

Ryan: It was an interesting choice to have Chuck kill Shaw. Were you ever afraid of that choice? I mean, was that always where it was going to build to?

Fedak: Well, first off, I’m afraid of everything [laughs]. I’m a rather frightful person. There were a couple of things I was afraid of this season. One was, Chuck becoming a spy and what does it mean if Chuck has to shoot someone, and what does it mean when Chuck shoots Shaw? As well as the idea of, what happens when Chuck and Sarah are together? Is that going to be a fun and exciting show in its own right, because there’s a fundamental change to your show.

I mean, for TV shows back in the day, it’s like, Richard Kimball went on the run searching for the one-armed man [in "The Fugitive"] and he would do it for seasons. Whereas, for us, to take Chuck and Sarah and to make them a couple was a real shift in the dynamic of the show. And so I was, as Executive Producer and co-creator of the show with Josh [Schwartz], we were definitely concerned with that.

But here’s what we knew. We had an incredible [cast], we have Zac and Yvonne who are incredibly gifted together and they are so much fun and so charming that the show is more than simply the "will they/won’t they" of the first three seasons.

And then what we’ve realized, especially in Episode 14, is that they’re wonderful together. They’re so much fun and the dynamic is so much fun and bringing Morgan into the spy world was another thing we were concerned about, but once you see Josh Gomez in this world, it’s so much fun. He expands it and makes it funnier. He becomes the new eyes of the average everyman coming into the show.

We obsess over all of these decisions quite a bit. But I have to say, looking at Episode 14, which is the first episode back after a two-week hiatus, it’s “Chuck Versus the Honeymooners,” they’re great together and they’re so much fun to watch.

So going back to your question so many months ago when you came on set, which was, "Can Chuck and Sarah be together? You certainly don’t think they have to be apart" -- the answer to your question is, no, I don’t think they have to be apart. I think they can be together, but as a storyteller, I can’t tell you that at the beginning of the season.

Ryan: Well, back then you did tell me there was a plan, but around the time of "Fake Name," I was just in a sad place and I was like, "OK, they say there's a plan. What is the plan?"

Fedak: Well, the thing is, if we were to have taken that type of storytelling and taken it throughout the entire season and then not have put them together in the end, yes, I would assume it would be like the "Frankenstein" movie with the villagers with the pitchforks and the flames chasing us through the town. But we knew we were building to this very specific thing, it’s just that –

Ryan: This was the whole point of that set of episodes.

Fedak: Right, it’s very hard for us as writers to … as someone who wants to see Sarah and Chuck together and and yet with Episode 7 we’re going on a multi-week hiatus and we’ve ended with Shaw giving Sarah a back rub, it’s like – people are upset. It’s hard to say, “Trust us. Just trust us. We know what we’re doing.”

Ryan: I do think it was a risk to make Chuck kill someone, but I can see the dramatic reason to do that. I’m not questioning that aspect of it. I’m just wondering you know, as we’ve been talking about at various points now, is he just going to be a different guy? Is he is going to be the regular everyman that the viewer can identify with? A guy holding down a job, who plays videogames and hangs out with his friends? Is he a different guy? Is that something that he needs to be at this point?

Fedak: I think that Chuck is definitely a regular guy still. He’s definitely our Chuck. But the other thing that’s cool about the show is that Chuck does change with every episode. It’s like, the show’s about a guy named Chuck and he’s not the same guy from Season 1, he’s gotten better as a spy, his priorities have changed, and then in Episode 13 [of Season 3] and going forward, now has a relationship with the girl that he fell in love with so many episodes back. But he’s still Chuck. I think that we can't jump ahead, nor would we want to jump to a point to where he’s the hardened spy, you know, shooting bad guys by the dozen.

Ryan: Is it always going to be a question for him whether he can actually kill? Though I guess because he killed Shaw, it isn’t a question of whether he can literally pull the trigger when he really needs to.

Fedak: Well, I think it’s still a question. I think that killing Shaw – look at that bridge scene. It’s very specific what’s happening there. It’s hard to imagine anyone in that situation not pulling the trigger. It’s very much like, he had to do what he had to do, but it’s not like Chuck has now become the gunfighter.

Ryan: Yeah, you know, I actually watched the scene a few times just to kind of understand that, that he really didn’t want to do it. He really thought, there is no other option and if I don’t do this, Sarah’s going to die.

Fedak: Yeah, I know, and I think that in that scene Chuck tries to talk to Shaw. You know, his first instinct isn’t to blow the guy away. His first instinct isn’t to go hog wild. His first instinct is to talk to Shaw, and that’s Chuck. That’s this character. He’s not a classic action hero. John Wayne walks on the scene and blows Shane away, but Chuck Bartowski tries to talk to them.

Ryan: Right. So, I think you already answered this, but you know, the Chuck and Sarah together aspect of things, I’m excited to see them together and to see that play out, but does their relationship just become part of the mix of the show? Is it not quite so much the spine of it, or such a big part of it?

Fedak: It’s a part of the mix of the show. It’s certainly a part. I think Chuck and Sarah are infused into the show and their relationship, like Chuck’s home life -- they ground everything in the show. They make it about more than simply a spy show. And like the spy show makes it more than simply a relationship show. And so they’re definitely a part of it, but there’s also bigger things happening out there in the world. There’s deeper stories that go beyond just their relationship.

[Part of the interview was taken out of this spot and put at the end of the post. It was a question about adversaries and it may be considered spoilery. What's next is not spoilery -- you'll get a warning before you get to the excised part of the interview.]

Fedak: … With our show, we have so many characters and so much comedy and action that we rarely ever do the scene where you cut away to the bad guys working on their plan. We just don’t do the roundtable scene all that often on our show. So the bad-guy organization will be mysterious, but there will certainly be a part of the show going into the season finale.

Ryan: But, I have to say, in "Chuck Versus the Beard," when the bad guys were executing their plan within the Buy More itself -- I loved that.

Fedak: Oh, I know. I loved it.

Ryan: "Is that the sound of liberty?" That was one of my favorite lines ever.

Fedak: Yeah, Cedric Yarborough and Diedrich Bader, they were so great. What we found on the show is that when you hire comic actors to play villains, they’re really, really good. That they can play not only the funny and find funny opportunities, but they also can act, they can find a really interesting dark side as well.

Ryan: Well, Tony Hale -- rest in peace, Emmett Milbarge. He was great at that.

Fedak: Oh, Tony Hale’s wonderful. We’ve been trying to figure out how to bring Tony Hale back into the show since we killed him.

Ryan: I think he needs to be like Jor-El, talking to Chuck in some kind of dream sequence.

Fedak: We’ve had that idea. We’ve had the twin brother, we have the version of him who comes back with one robotic eye, we’ve really considered a lot of opportunities.

Ryan: And you know what? He could play them all.

Fedak: [Another idea the writing staff has had]– we would definitely want to do the episode in the prison where all the bad guys are held at some point.

Ryan: Oh, a prison? Is that something that’s coming up?

Fedak: No, no, it’s not, but we always tried to consider it. It’s like, we need a story of all the bad guys that Chuck has captured. That would be a fun episode.

Ryan: Definitely. Spoilery intel on Season 3 follows. Look away if you don't want to know.

Ryan: Is the Ring kind of wrapped up or will the rest of the season will be about the Ring?

Fedak: Well, the rest of the season will be about the Ring.

Ryan: We haven’t really seen much of them until Mark Sheppard rolled up. Will we actually get more into their world?

Comments

This is my main concern about them asking fans for help..Maybe and quite possibly its just me. But, me personally, The more I like the show the less likely I will watch it live because the commercials are just too much of an obstacle for me. The whole nielsen rating thing I think are just plain bullocks.. First of all, ( please don't take this the wrong way and I don't mean to offend anybody) The viewers qualified for it usually dont have tivo's or dvr's. Whether they can afford it or not is not my business. They often always are the viewers who will less likely buy anything that was shown on the commercials. This is 2010 NBC need to find another way to calculate the shows fan base and viewers. Chuck may not have the most fans compared to recent histories but they sure as hell have one of the most loyal one, proven in all the polls in other sites considering they previously have won the save the show, cutest couple on tv and hottest woman on tv. They surely need to count that as something and although ratings are indeed the tv worlds heart and pulse, its not everything. You can please thousands of people by showing them a dream house in beverly hills..But if you dont show it to the few that can actually afford it , then what good is it.

Great interview, interesting read. Loved your questions. I think you maybe are a bit too hard on the first 13 episodes. It isn't a perfect series, but Season 2 had some bumps, and Season 1 purely got by on the actor's charm. I enjoyed them, but yes, I do think I will enjoy the next 6 even more - it actually could be the series we are all always hoping for! Love Chuck with all its faults, but love that they are expanding and exploring and un-afraid of change.

Chuck really, *really* did play about 20,000 hours of Call Of Duty between the beginning of Stanford and tonight.

The question's never been whether he could hit the target, Intersect be damned. It was *whether he would pull the trigger*.

Now, that said, he and Sarah really *do* need to burn a scene, as I commented at Alan's, working out the details of what, exactly, that means to each of them, or those of us who are thinkers, who talk about 'agency' and such, will feel a bit gypped.

Fedak and Schwartz need to be good to their word and let Chuck and Sarah soar now. I think they most definitely should be a part of the mix AND the spine of the show, just together. It feels to me like Chuck finally grew up. Not a fan of alot of this season, but if it continues on like tonight from this point forward in season 3 maybe the horridness that was Shaw will fade.

Mo, this was yet another eloquent review that resonated strongly with me. Your explanation of how the Shaw character, and Brandon Routh's portrayal of him, was season three's "kryptonite" (sorry, couldn't help it) seems spot on. And the point you made about how an actor like Bomer might have mitigated the damage was a spooky parallel to a discussion I was having elsewhere on the very same subject.

Thanks for taking time to give this failure its due, and not just gloss over it obliquely as has been done in other reviews.

I have only one comment with regard to the Fedak interview: How sad it was to read that until they saw Zach and Yvonne together in the 3.14 dailies, they didn't know how much fun it was to watch them together. And that this fear was likely a strong force in keeping the two apart for as long as they were.

Because, really, Chris. You could have just asked the fans. They already knew.

Was Routh a miscasting mistake for a show that pretty hits it out of the park in this area? To a degree. If they had taken out the LI for the character and left him as a mentor for Chuck and confidant for Sarah then Routh would have been better served.

As for the LI stuff there was obviously no chemistry between him and Yvonne but some of the issues lie with the writing as well. The showrunners deliberately left the extent of the relationship vague and the assumption must be because they were afraid to push that aspect too hard. But seriously, Chuck and Hannah making out while Shaw gives Sarah a neck rub? Come on. If one is going to take characters down a storyline path then make it clear to us what is happening.

Myself I was less fussed about Sarah and Shaw being together and more bent out of shape trying to discern how much they were together. That is not a good sign of storytelling.

Thankfully the elephant in the room has been released and focus can now shift elsewhere. Chuck has evolved through the season to a point where we can buy him as being a spy.

With Sarah and Chuck together and Casey back on the team plus the addition of Morgan, things should be quite fun going forward. Out of all of the new dynamics to be explored, Morgan's inclusion on the team is the one that interests me most.

i´m so in "peace" after this episode, that i think, those two weekends, it ill be easy to live with :)

i don´t get it much of the usa system for ratings, i´ve been reading something, but is quite hard to accept that this "nielsen family" is the big deal.
a few days ago, i watch on youtube exec. producers and the cast saying "thank you" for one millions "clicks" on nbc website for see the show online.
nbc give that information, so...
maybe the network it´s just having fun with this thing call "save chuck".
they need the advertise, but our hearts is bumping. like "chuck and sarah" togheter is the best way for us keep in touch, the should be humble and say: "hey guys, here is your 4th season". turn things easy to everybody. respectfull by the time things are happen.
is hard to imagine that they don´t know how good is "chuck" and the millions of people watching, for a monday 8 pm, is actually real good.
in portugal, 8pm is news time, so that´s why turn out to be quite achivment what chuck offer.

long life to chuck!
and mrs Ryan, you are the best journalist i ever read!
no fear to ask, but fun to ask!
:0)

Maureen, we're kindred spirits in our love for CHUCK . And you asked all of the questions I was thinking & wanted to know. Great job!

CHUCK vs THE OTHER GUY may just be my favorite episode to date--it had every element that make the show so special, so unlike any other show I've ever watched. The balance of comedy, drama, suspense, & romance was right on target. I actually think in retrospect that the timeline for Chuck & Sarah was exactly where it needed to be--all the characters have grown and developed over the past 3 seasons, and knowing that the writers have the same love and affection for the characters that we fans do, I knew in my heart that Chuck & Sarah would get together. All season, I kept thinking of the quote from the movie 'Vanilla Sky'......"without the bitter,baby, the sweet ain't as sweet". Shaw was definitely the bitter--Sarah & Chuck getting together was indeed very sweet.

Last night before we headed home to watch Chuck, we stopped at Subway for dinner. It just felt right :-)

I've never seen Routh in anything else, but I immediately disliked him - not the character. Yes, i haven't met him and he may be a lovely fellow and even an excellent actor who played the character as it was supposed to be. But I disliked him even before he said a single word and just wanted him to go away.

Matt Bomer on the other hand could have played this in the light likeable way that would make it all so very different - even though the writers are still in the penalty box as far as i'm concerned - trust you? Oh no, you don't get trust after a kiss - you may have earned it after season 6 - if there is one, but for now - not so much.

As for it being a risk to have Chuck kill someone, I don't see a problem - if Sarah is fine with it, then so am I.

And can i just say the only (and hopefully last time) in the entire series where it was ok and worked when the two were interrupted was here at the end when Beckman dials in.

The episode left us in potentially a very good place for the remaining season. I'm optimistic. Morgan as Alfred is a genius idea--if they forgo the expected whining about going on missions and show him embracing his full powers of sidekickness will be very happy. And of course glad to have Casey back though I knew he would be soon--it was still satisfying to watch his phone call to the general, and that he helped out Morgan who helped him find his mojo.

Line of the ep from Casey: "Before (all this), you were smart." Yes, he was. S2 Chuck was smart beyond the computer in his head, and the best parts were watching him realize how he could apply those smarts, whether taking out cameras or the Tron poster. It's something that's been missing this season, and paid off when Chuck figured out where they would be using straight-up analyst skills. And Casey got him there, talked down and using his brain. That part was great. And I always enjoy Casey's offscreen removal of all impediments.

Disappointed that we'll still be doing the Ring. Consider the elevator scene:
Director: "Ah. As you know, we have been working to develop our own Intersect. We call the central part of this "the cypher" and it is a small, easily portable device kept close by. There's no way you can get your hands on it."
Chuck: "Oho."
Me: "Dear god."

My money's on Shaw's not being gone. Shaw knew the Ring wanted to convert him. In the episode where the Ring invades Castle, he asks why they didn't kill him when they had the chance. In the last episode, the gun Chuck used was Shaw's; he was going to fake killing Sarah. He's orchestrated taking out the director, fed them bad intel, and is now in deep cover for the Ring. At the same time, he drove Chuck to pull the trigger, something he knows he hasn't done (he probably bugged Sarah's room). He'll be back.

Maybe I'm the only Chuck fan out there who isn't jumping through the roof because this arc of the show is done. My reaction was kinda meh... Going through all thirteen episodes, the ending last night felt pretty contrived. Maybe that's too strong a word. I mean, it wasn't organic in the storytelling. I'm probably not expressing myself real well here but it seemed that the writers had a plan in mind and then when they went off and executed it really badly. The great thing about season 2 especially the later half of the season barring the filler episodes was the show flowed really well. This season its been really jerky. It didn't help that so much of the story involved Shaw and that character just didn't work out. Plus it felt like the writers had a grocery list but then went to the store and just went to town, stuffing the cart full of stuff when all they needed was what was on the original list - Chuck, Sarah, Casey, Morgan, Ellie, Awesome and the Buy More crew. I agree the Chuck world had to expand, the changes needed and the characters evolving but when the storytelling fails to continously engage the viewer and keep them coming back then you lose them. The numbers I think show that at this point only the diehards are watching live, everyone else just watches on Hulu or off their DVRs. Chuck is no longer must watch TV for NBC viewers which are few and far between as such, at least for the ones who aren't twittering 2 hours before the show. The highlights of this season and they have been sparse were the moments when Team Bartowski is interacting with each other. When we see Chuck upload the Intersect at the end of last season, it was like a really big moment the show had built up to. In the case of episode 13, had this been the season finale, it felt more like yeah, okay. There's nearly no intense desire like last year to see this show survive and that story told. It's a great set up for the show going forward sort of how last season's finale set up this season. I'd like to see more of this story but if the show ended today, I wouldn't be in line to buy a Subway again.

Makes me wonder what the writers did with the next six episodes. I have a feeling they felt euphoric over the additional order, confident they had an audience and wrote the material with that mindset. Right now the show is in a more precarious position, lesser viewers, definitely on the bubble and needing more than the hardcore base to tune in. Its facing a 3-week layoff and when it comes back it needs more eyeballs that will stay tuned to the end. It could easily be 6 episodes of great stuff, an early preview of next year's Chuck. But then we got 13 episodes which were supposed to be the best ever Chuck episodes since they were lean, mean and great and look at where I'm at now. Okay, that's probably my cynical side kicking in but then the saying goes - "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." I hope it does not play out like that.

I loved this episode!!! Even though I saw the end coming from a mile away (of course Chuck would have to shoot Shaw to save Sarah, as that would be the only way to get Chuck to a place where he is capable of using a real gun, as well as the only way for Sarah to accept Chuck's transition), but with all the double-fake-outs about Shaw the episode kept me enough on my toes that it didn't feel too contrived or predictable. As always, I adored Mark Sheppard, and I thought that the scene in the elevator was absolutely brilliant.

I was also surprised at how pleased I was for Morgan to be an official part of the team. I think that the writers did a great job of moving Morgan to that point this season - with his leadership responsibility at Buy More, with his selfless and courageous behavior when the Ring invaded the Buy More, with him embracing and protecting Chuck's secret, and with him providing appropriate and helpful support for Chuck at various points. I think that Morgan has a lot of potential as Hero Support for Team Bartowski, and I credit the writers and the actor with turning Morgan into someone who could conceivably become (eventually) an actual asset to the team, and having that transition seem appropriate and believable for the character. And Morgan now working at the Buy More as a cover job is gonna be awesome. That phone call from General Beckman to Morgan was hilarious.

And Go Casey! for having everyone's back - I wish that more time had been spent on Casey's arc this season. That is actually one of my only complaints about this season, that there was a LOT of untapped potential - comic and dramatic - in the Casey aspect of things. He has changed/grown/evolved a lot this season, but we haven't really been seeing that - we've just been seeing his actions, not watching his process or even seeing enough specific moments where things change for him. He has just been doing out-of-character things, coming to realizations off-screen, and we know from his actions that he is changing, but I would like to have seen more of his perspective. It feels shortchanged, and the character and actor both deserved more of a showcase this season. Maybe next season?

So Shaw's dead?!?! Good riddance!!! I never liked him, he just plain sucked. I would love to see what a better, more charismatic actor would have done with the role, and how that would have affected fan reaction to this season. Shaw, as played, had zero charm of any sort. I keep thinking of people who could have pulled it off better, and basically concluded that most anyone would have been better. My dream picks included Josh Holloway, Nathan Fillion, Matt Keesler, Tahmoh Penikett, Mark Valley, Jason Bateman, Michael Ealy, Terrance Howard, Matt Damon, Peter Krause, and Jensen Ackles (many of whom are, of course, already busy with shows/projects that I adore, but any of those folks could have done a lot more with the role IN THEIR SLEEP). Heck, it would have been better to have cast Mark Sheppard as Shaw and Routh as the Ring Director. I seriously think that the whole relationship arc of this season would have been more palatable to everyone if Shaw hadn't been such a boring, wooden character.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the new episodes in a few weeks. Go Chuck 3.2!!!!

my fav part in 3.13 was from the point in the DYLM scene where sarah says the words "yes' to the point where morgan picks chuck up and says 'we gotta get some coffee in you' while a bemused sarah watches the two friends with a wry smile - that is what the show was missing in season 3.1 thru 3.12. Just watch Yvonne's face for those 15-30 seconds of air time, priceless. Yvonne / Chuck allow Morgan to be great in that scene, then Yvonne give's the nod of approval at the end of the scene (seemingly as we all at home are smiling and nodding along with her)

What a shame that chuck fans were robbed of those priceless moments in the first 12 episodes of the season - we will never really know the lost opportunity for the show to gain a following during Jan - Mar 2010, can only hope fans can pick up the pieces in April and May and stabilize ratings enough to merit another season.

Yes, they could move Chuck to another slot. Or they could renew it knowing that it is probably doing better than anything else they could program there.

We saw Bryce come back from the dead so it's entirely possible that Shaw does as well.

I just don't get the whole Shaw thing. He's supposed to be the great and patriotic spy, yet he doesn't comprehend that Sarah was not at fault for his wife dying? She was just following orders. The real person who killed Shaw's wife was whomever issued the orders to have her killed.

I'm happy that Chuck and Sarah are finally together. I just wish the writers and producers hadn't gone about this protracted route to get them there.

Where/Who at the Tribune do we complain to if we think one of their columnists is suppressing posts unreasonably?

I posted last week that I thought the whole Moonlighting premise, will they/won't they was getting old and tiresome, and lo and behold, they finally get together in what was going to be the season's farewell episode.

This week I post that I think Shaw is not dead, that no dead body was ever shown, and what happens? Quashed.

The only posts allowed seem to be those dripping with honey.

Mo here: I unpublished some posts that discussed Sarah/Yvonne in a way I found was inappropriate for this site. If you want to talk about the show, that's fine. Analyzing an actor's physical appearance isn't something we do here.

Sarah's character has been really badly served this season. She's had few ass-kicking episodes and instead of a super-capable, take-charge agent we've been treated to a passive, love-struck worrier. It's a testament to Strahovski's skill that Sarah is still even watchable.

The 'You saved me' comment left a sour taste during the final, romantic scene, since it reminded me how they'd downgraded her heroism in order to make it plausible she had some square-jawed, heroic 'type' and would therefore fall for Shaw. (Contrast Bryce Larkin, who was so much like Chuck in many ways: I always got the impression that Sarah fell for Bryce's decency and humour, rather than his undeniable heroism, and that was also what she saw in Chuck. Certainly, when Sarah and Bryce were shown together they were depicted as equals, not as her admiring him.)

Anyway, I agree that this was a return to form in a lot of ways, but I'd also like Strong Sarah back.

I just want to say that I stopped watching this show after 4 episodes for the some of the very same reasons that have been cited by the previous posters. The main problem that I have always had with the program is that all the other characters have been placed above Chuck and given more screen time as a result. It was just too much emphasis on his sidekicks rather than him. People like me saw that very early on and stopped watching. Chuck and Sarah getting together should have happened two years ago, not when the show is on the verge of being cancelled. As for Brandon Routh, that guy is terrible. I saw him in Superman Returns and he added nothing to the character of Superman and displayed no personality at all.

A very good review and interview. I agree fully with your thoughts, and I still find it a little surprising to think that the writers (and Yvonne?) truly think that Shaw was anything more than a 'wet blanket' (love that description!).

Ah well, it's hopefully over now and I really hope that the remaining 6 episodes contain the loveable, light-hearted Chuck that we grown to love in S1 and S2. Without the angst! And I hope that we reach out to the viewers who stopped watching Chuck (IMO due to the angst) and that Chuck's ratings get to at least 2.4

Regarding the ratings - I think *at least* a 2.4 is possible. The Other Guy got a 2.1, however all other shows on Monday night fell by at least 10% due to the sport. Whilst it's not perfect logic, one could argue that Chuck being steady at 2.1 whereas all other shows falling is like Chuck growing to a 2.3 (2.1 + 10%) on a normal night. Ish :P

Hence based on this, and hoping that the back 6 are good, (more) light-hearted types of episodes, I do think that a 2.4 at least is definitely achievable.

Good review, excellent episode, nice turn of events for our hero. And I really wonder what other ways the show will find to use the CIA's snappy new piece of equipment.

I'm not talking about the new Chuck, I'm talking about the dirigible. Think of the possib ... wait, you didn't notice? In the last scene, Chuck and Sarah were in a hotel room that looked down on, or at least across at, the top of the Eiffel Tower.

The tower is at least 250 feet taller than anything else in Paris, so they must've been airborne, right? And a blimp is so much cooler than an airplane. Nice, subtle introduction of the new spymobile, "Chuck"-meisters.

Great interview. I actually think that Chuck killing Shaw was the perfect thing to do. As much as I like seeing Chuck and Sarah together that is going to make too big of a difference in the show. Week after week the sexual tension between the two characters has been incredible and to lose that would definitely make the show more less exciting.

Now that Chuck has killed a man no matter the circumstances he and Sarah have to deal with it emotionally(Chuck with the fact that he actually did it and Sarah because Chuck has changed and will likely be distant because of it). This will be a perfect reason for them to break up again yet still keep that tension.

Excellent interview, I'm quite optimistic about my favourite show. And I love its constant change. However I would like the Laudanol drug from Vs. the Tic Tac episode to play a part in the series. There is going to be a great dynamic switch in the show and I cant wait to see it.
Regards from Bulgaria

I was THRILLED to see Anna Woo flash on the screen in the previews for the next set of episodes starting April 26. That call that Casey made in Episode 3 of Season 2 - "Get me a background check on one Anna Woo!" during her kung-fu cage match scene with the bully athlete guy ("I don't fight girls," he says. "Neither do I!," she retorts) was one of the greatest and funniest scenes in all of Chuck-dom. Anna HAS to come back as a spy, don't you think? And she HAS to still be in love with Morgan. Anna leaving Morgan for some other guy in Hawaii was just a cover for her spy training.

I disagre with a lot of your review, Mrs. Ryan. Especially when it came to Brandon Routh. I enjoyed him in the role of Shaw very much. He never came off as a 'cold creep' as you mention it. He played the part of a cold and very professional spy as I'm sure they wanted. And THAT'S WHY they extended his arc, which made me very happy.

Despite Shaw being cold and aloof most of the time, he still was able to show kindness to others, espcially to Sarah. He was always there for her, to listen and to comfort her. And I really liked Brandon and Yvonne's chemistry. I just think that to most of the hardcore Chuck fans (I'm not one of them), it was WAY too hard to see Sarah dating or persuing another guy. You guys just couldn't take it because you SO invested in the Chuck and Sarah relationship. But I'm not invested. I like the characters, yes (well, not so much now since they seem so shallow and cold when they were ready to jump into bed right after what HAD JUST HAPPENED TO SHAW. I was so soon for that, IMO.), but I just enjoy the show in general.

Finally, I think the writing for the Shaw character was so poor in some episodes. Shaw was supposed to be the ultimate spy, but they made him fail quite often (especially in Mask), and this damaged the character's credibility. They FINALLY gave Mr. Routh some meaty material to work with, and the man delivered. The character's true potential was somewhat wasted, sadly. Not Routh's fault.

This season was entertaining and even compelling, but it just felt somewhat rushed and full of plot holes.

If Shaw had been personable like Bryce I think people would have had more trouble with the fact that Chuck had to shoot him. This was obviously planned from the start (much forshadowing) so they did not want Shaw to be too likable. One of the reasons I figured out Chuck would kill Shaw was because while I did not care for him, I liked all the other love interests. I felt that the authors were too good to make that kind of mistake, unless it was on purpose.

As far as Sarah falling for Shaw, I had less of a problem than most folks did with that. Shaw represented a "safe" relationship. She would have had a much greater chance of being hurt by Chuck since her feelings for him are so strong. Sarah distrusts strong feelings and is afraid of being hurt again.

Finally a friend of mine who received military briefings from real CIA agents says they were all like Shaw. He also said that NSA agents were "scary" but will neither confirm nor deny if they were like Casey.

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